A Walk Home from the Opera

Bill Crumley

Nicholas
loved the opera. He
attended
twice a week. The man was forty-five years old and was the city's most
respected druggist. The opera was as much a passion to Nicholas as
making
love was to others. He lived the roles of the players, especially the
lead
man. To him they could do no wrong. The owner of the opera house knew
the
show was good if Nicholas came out with eyes that were puffy red from
crying.

The druggist was not exactly the
stereotypical
lead male part. Standing five and a half feet tall, his reddish-gray
hair
retreating from its war with baldness, and wearing trifocals, his part
might have been cast as the court jester instead of the lead man's
role.
Still, he lived his life through what the lead man did or might do. He
was a hopeless romantic.

Every morning was the same. Nicholas
used
his
best cologne, and spent most of his money on clothes that he thought
would
attract the eye of some beautiful lady. His will never faltered. She
had
to be out there. The thought of him rescuing his damsel from terrible
danger
and the two of them floating away on the wings of love was the reason
he
got up every morning. Well, the second best reason. She would have to
love
opera almost as much as she loved him.

It was Tuesday night and the opera
company
in town was debuting its performance for the week. Nicholas liked his
city's
opera company. It may be small, but this was the starting point for
many
great performers.

After he came home from work,
Nicholas
always
put on his best blue suit and black shoes to go to the opera. His blood
was tingling and warming his veins. He felt like he had just met his
true
love and was moving in close to touch his lips to hers. He felt vibrant
and alive, even the old hag that comes in every other day complaining
about
why he charges so much for her prescription did not bother him.

He danced with his imaginary partner
throughout
the house, fluttering about like a young boy. In front of the icebox he
stopped and dipped his young future maiden and awaited her sweet kiss
from
the full luscious lips he always dreamt about. He stopped in mid-kiss
when
he realized he was being watched.

Looking in the window was his old
friend,
Victor,
who was laughing so hard his eyes were beginning to bulge. After his
reddened
cheeks returned to normal color Nicholas opened the door and let his
friend
in.

Victor was holding the city
newspaper.
The
headlines read, "Second Body Found, No Answers Yet." Nicholas went on
to
read that both victims had their throats torn out in similar fashions.

He had heard two old women
whispering
earlier
today in his pharmacy. They were holding a newspaper and having a very
heated discussion. He couldn't resist and went over to eavesdrop. He
caught
the word "vampire" before the old women caught him and began to scold
him.

Nicholas went on to read that the
town
was
still functioning normally, but residents were not to travel at night
alone.

Nicholas knew that the menace of
vampires
threatened
periodically. His grandmother made sure that he knew the precautions as
well as the back of his hand.

The two friends argued for nearly
one
hour.
Nicholas would not be swayed. The opera was tonight, he had to go.
Besides,
tonight he had the feeling that he would meet the woman of his dreams.
After assuring Victor that he would be safe, his friend left for home.

Nicholas thought about what the old
women
were
whispering about as he watched Victor leave. He then went into his
bedroom.
Two minutes later he came out with a cross. It was jaggedly sharp on
the
long end and looked quite formidable. His grandmother had given it to
him
when he was sixteen to be used for such an occasion.

On his way out the door, Nicholas
had a
thought
about holy water. He dismissed it, placed the cross inside his coat,
and
journeyed light-heartedly out into the night.

The opera house, he noticed, was not
packed
like it usually was because of the danger, but he did not care. Tonight
was his, he even got to sit in the front row. The performance went
perfectly.
Nicholas felt like he was in another world. His gaze never left the
lead
player and his female counterpart. He drank up every word, every note,
and was so excited he had to run to the bathroom twice to empty his
bladder.

The finale cumulated with the lead
rescuing
his maiden from certain death and the evil character being vanquished.

Nicholas burst into tears at the
lovely
voice
of the maiden. "You have saved me, courageous knight. I will love you
forever."

Nicholas thanked the players with
his
applause
and also with his tears. He shook the owner's hand and took his leave
for
home.

The night was utterly beautiful,
every
star
seemed to wink at him. He kept thinking tonight he will meet her. He
stared
into everybody's face he met, hoping it would be her. The quest for his
love along the way home coupled with his enjoyment of the night took
him
past his desired path. He decided to keep walking. This way was much
more
scenic.

Nicholas was happily engulfed in his
thoughts
when a high pitched scream ripped him back to reality. He stopped dead
in his tracks and listened for any sound. From a block away, the sounds
of a scuffle destroyed the silence. Fear of the unknown seared at his
soul
and he hastily walked away. His head wheeled around at the sound of a
terrified
scream of a man. Silently, he put away his fears and sprinted to help.

The two combatants were struggling
deep
in
a poorly-lit alley. As Nicholas slowed to a jog he saw a flash of
golden
hair surrounding the most beautiful face he had ever seen. The nearer
he
got the more he could see it was streaked with terror.

The other figure was a huge man. His
hands
were extremely large and his skin was unordinarily pale. His face was
covered
in blood. Four streaks of red were clawed into his cheek. The sounds
coming
from his throat reminded Nicholas of a wild beast that had not eaten
for
weeks. His eyes were rolling around like a crazed, rabid animal. It
looked
like he was about to overcome the petite, golden woman.

A thought came to his mind. What if
the
woman
is a prostitute and the man is just an over-anxious customer? No! His
mind
went back to the newspaper and the old women. The man must be the
vampire!
The woman must have been walking home when the demon flew down from the
sky and dragged her into the alley. She
doesn't
have a chance!

He watches as a tear glistens down
her
flushed,
innocent cheek and drops to the dungy surface. In that instant no other
woman in the world existed to Nicholas, only her.

Nicholas thought back to the opera
and
the
lead man's actions. He thought frantically, he must help her! This is
the
woman he will fight for and sweep off her feet. In a panic, he looked
for
a weapon, nothing.

The cross! He reached into his coat
and
withdrew
the holy weapon. He trembled in fear at the thought of what he was
about
to do.

As he approached he caught the
woman's
pleading
screams. He felt a twinge towards the back of his brain, then it was
gone.
A pitiful plea of "help me" appeared out of nowhere. It was her melodic
voice but she hadn't spoken it.

The man's size was daunting,
Nicholas
hesitated.
A scared groan bled from her mouth and jostled him back to action. The
woman was a portrait of perfection. He would die before he let the
demon
hurt her again.

He struck towards the perpetrator's
heart
but
the jagged point imbedded into his chest, off its mark. The hulk
screamed
in pain while groping for the new enemy. The smaller man side-stepped,
ripped free his weapon, and plunged it a second time. It pierced him
with
spectacular results. Blood exploded from the man's new wound as the
cross
severed the sternum and impaled through to his ventricles. The
screaming
stopped as the body toppled and dropped to the concrete. It trembled
violently
then stopped, totally lifeless.

Nicholas whirled around and let his
gaze
fall
upon the maiden. As she stood up, the tatters that were her dress fell
away. He stood there for a moment just looking at her. His eyes ran
over
her body, seeking the shapely curves. He felt a yearning, a desire
start
to build up within himself. The beautiful body standing in front of him
was the personification of his dreams and fantasies that had built up
in
him throughout the years.

The woman collapsed to the pavement.
Nicholas
quickly rushed to the maiden's aid and knelt down to her.

As he held her, he whispered," I've
waited
my entire life for you. I love you more than life itself. You never
have
to worry about anyone hurting you again. I am here."

Nicholas felt a twinge pluck in his
mind.
It
was like something was flowing over his thoughts.

She whispered,"You have saved me,
courageous
knight. My heart is yours. I will love you forever."

The black lace undergarments held
his
heated
stare and the burning desire kept building up inside of him. She looked
up with ocean blue eyes, beckoning a kiss. He shivered as his lips
touched
hers. Odd, he thought. Why would her lips be so cool? While kissing,
she
brought her petite hand up to rest on the inside of his thigh. Nicholas
thought he was going to blow up. He had never felt this way, ever. His
burning desire clouded his mind and his heart beat faster and faster.

As they kissed, her puckered lips
curved
into
a hideous smile. The hand on his thigh now moved to his back and
changed.
The fingers lengthened and the nails elongated and curled into horrible
talons.

Nicholas knew this was the woman he
was
going
to spend the rest of his life with.

These images fled as pain exploded
through
his head. He jumped back, screaming in pain. He watched, horrified as
his
lip disappeared into the ravenous maw of the woman.

He turned to run but a taloned hand
grasped
the back of his head. He yelped in fear when she forced his head back,
exposing his throat. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her teeth
slide
out of their sockets and he felt a drop of saliva sizzle on his neck.

He realized his fatal mistake as he
watched
her eyes merge from ocean blue to a hideous black. He had killed the
wrong
person.

A giggle of excitement fell upon his
ears
as
the teeth entered and ripped their way through to his jugular artery.

As he laid there, he felt a force
flow
through
his thoughts. "You championed me. My heart is yours and yours is now
mine.
We will be together, always."

A black coldness started to spread
out
from
the wound in his neck and chased the images of what might have been
from
his mind. He hardly felt the woman he loved not twenty seconds ago
change
to a blood crazed beast. He was powerless as she sucked the life out of
him.

The last thing he heard before he
died
was
a demonic laugh and the sound of leathery wings fading into the night.